I am Red. I am a Survivor. This is my journey.

Celebrating early!

On this day last year, I was headed to surgery for my double mastectomy. It was a day of fear and hope mixed together. It was exciting to be moving towards a life that was anticipated to be cancer free and the halfway point for my treatment at the time.

This year things are quite different and I am preparing for a different surgery (not today) that will hopefully be my last despite this fight with cancer never actually ending for me.

Joe’s birthday, the 4th, was spent caring for me last year. Knowing that surgery is looming in the the future, I was determined for him to celebrate his day without dealing with anything cancer recovery related. Unsure when surgery would be, I booked an early birthday celebration.

All that being said, today we are headed in a different direction – literally. I asked Joe to take the day off and told him that it was filled with preoperative appointments. I waited until he showered yesterday to pack and hide Jacob’s suitcase (to stay at Grandma’s last night) along with a small birthday gift. We went through the work day and as we were leaving, I asked if we could stop at his parents house to discuss the surgery plan. When we pulled up, I pretended to leave my phone in the car and had him go in ahead of me. I grabbed Jacob’s suitcase and snuck it inside. Then I grabbed the box and a card. Once inside, I asked Jacob to bring the box and card to Daddy.
He ran up excitedly, yelling “Daddy, is for you! Is your birthday! A package. A card!” Joe looked surprised and opened the box to find two matching fishing hats. I smiled widely and he opened the card.

The gift of Thursday. Thanks to our incredible family, we were all able to contribute towards a day of fun for Joe. Instead of heading to surgery or appointments, we are headed to our happy place! We will spend the day on a fishing boat, surrounded by the amazing ocean of New Smyrna Beach. We will fish, enjoy this incredible day and each other.

I couldn’t be more excited to spend this day celebrating my love’s birthday!! 🐟🐠🐡🐙🐬⛴🌊